Abbott fires up Liberal right in Norwood over SA euthanasia Bill

Former prime minister Tony Abbott’s speech in Norwood has helped galvanise the state Liberal party’s right wing.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has helped inspire an unusual assertiveness among Liberal conservatives by talking to more than 500 party supporters in Norwood on Thursday night.

Galvanised by opposition to controversial abortion law changes in February, Liberal Senator Alex Antic organised for the address by Mr Abbott a conservative luminary.

Mr Abbott, who spoke on the theme of how to make a difference, urged Liberal supporters to redouble efforts to ensure
the party faithfully reflected its values.

“My concern was to try to motivate people to feel good about the Liberal Party, to be as active as they possibly could be within it, and to be strong and courageous in speaking out for the things they believed in,” Mr Abbott told The Advertiser.

“ … Our job is not to make weak compromises with the Labor Party. It’s to offer a strong alternative, based on our enduring values.”

More than 500 Liberal supporters and members watch former prime minister Tony Abbott speak at the Norwood Concert Hall on Thursday night.

Almost simultaneously, the now-disparate conservative groups in the State Parliament were raging against Premier Steven Marshall accelerating debate on proposed euthanasia laws by allocating government business time.

The Advertiser was told this breached an undertaking after the abortion debate that no more conscience votes on Bills would be allowed in government time.

Some Right-aligned MPs are threatening to refuse to attend Liberal party room meetings but predict the issue will come to a head when the party gathers on Monday. The issue intensified Right-aligned MPs’ views that they have been frozen out of the Marshall Cabinet.

Former minister Stephan Knoll, who is retiring as Schubert MP at the next election, rejected speculation that he would sit outside the party room.

“‘I am and will remain an enthusiastic and committed member of the Liberal party room,” he said.